Post-Holiday Depression: A Spiritual Message From Self? (Part 3 of 3)

What are the warning signs and symptoms that your anxiety is progressing to overwhelming stress that may become depression? And, what can you do to prevent it? Part three of this three-part series on post-holiday depression focuses on holistic cures, solutions, and preventions to the after-party-blues.

Some of us are natural caregivers by nature. We live to help. We love to give.

Our nurturing mother-within thinks carrying other people’s troubles for them it will lighten their load. It doesn’t. It just makes your life heavier. And that is depressing.

Understanding and embracing this rule-of-life teaches us an important lesson—We cannot carry other people’s “stuff”, talk their talk for them or walk their path for them. We can respect their life-lessons to be learned by them. And, perhaps our lesson may be to respect and love them enough to let them make mistakes and learn from those lessons.

Temporarily offer your shoulder but not your back. Let me explain.

There is a big difference between being spiritually supportive and being an emotional mule. A supportive person lends a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. A mule carries the weight of the world on their back while refusing to focus on their own life and issues—this is avoidance. It only takes another challenge to be the straw that breaks the mule’s back and sends them spiraling into depression.

Be the shoulder to cry on with a non-negotiable time limitation.

According to the Journal of Clinical Psychology, as little as a thirty-minute cardiovascular routine can provide an immediate natural mood boost similar to the effects felt after taking an antidepressant medication. This healthy holistic response can be due to endorphins released by the body during exercise. The same effect can be accomplished by a daily routine involving a brisk walk.

The Mayo Clinic advocates acknowledgment of stress and talking about and speaking with professionals about depression as a big step in working through it.

Here are additional ways to combat post-holiday depression:

Return to or begin eating a healthy diet.

Re-establish and maintain a regular sleep pattern

Do something once a day that brings you joy

Our mind is a beautiful thing. Experience can teach us that we manifest not only what we want in life but also what we need.

Sometimes that need is to slow down, reassess our lives and reconnect to inner guidance through dreams, prayers, and meditation. Depression can serve us in this capacity. It is not an enjoyable experience and few of us would choose to go through it again. However, it can be a sign from inner-guidance that it is time to reassess our lives. By facing our depression rather than suppressing it, we can learn from it, use it to change our life, and ultimately respect it to survive adversity and illness.

Don’t let your post-holidays become something you dread. Instead, take steps to prevent the stress that can lead to depression during and after the parties have ended. Learn to recognize your post-holiday depression triggers. These may include financial pressures and personal demands. Focusing on solutions that work for you can help disconnect those emotional buttons that trigger depression. Combat triggers with awareness before they lead to a meltdown. With a little planning, awareness, and positive thinking, you can find peace and joy during and after the holidays.